Ants fascinate me. I’ve watched them in Asia, Africa and throughout the tropical islands. I’ve studied them in lush environments and in arid deserts. I’ve eaten ants. I’ve fought them. I’ve watched them dig a path across a golf course and ruin the putting green.
While living in Kenya, our home was invaded by ants. We quickly discovered that ants are cunning, persistent and tenacious. There was one queen ant for the entire colony of thousands of ants and the only way to get rid of the ants was to kill the queen ant. Nothing else would work! The trick was finding the queen ant.
We called a man who our African friends said was a specialist in knowing what to do. He told us the queen ant would be buried up to six feet below ground and which could be up to a half a mile from where the ants were causing trouble in our house. The ants would travel the half a mile totally underground. This man’s skill was finding the queen ant.
When he came, he took a stick and tapped on the ground outside the house, seeing nothing but apparently sensing something until many yards from our house, he said, “Dig here and you will find the queen!” We did and we did! With the death of the queen ant, the worker ants were soon gone from our house.
King Solomon wrote, Go to the ant you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise. It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest. (Proverbs 6:6-8).
What have I learned from observing ants?
NEVER QUIT
Have you ever tried to block the path of an ant with your foot or a stick? The ant doesn’t turn around and go home. Immediately, the ant begins searching for another way to get where it wants to go. It will climb over, go around or even dig a path under the barrier. Obstacles don’t deter them; they look for other options. They persistently seek for another way.
What a great approach to life and ministry! We deceive ourselves if we think we can skip through life without obstacles, problems and opposition. People, at times, will work against us. Financial resources may dry up. Plans may need to be scrapped. Dreams may have to be postponed.
Don’t give up. Remember, if your way is blocked, there is always another way. As the saying goes, “There is more than one way to skin a cat.” You may not be able to start a program in your church that you feel is necessary, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a different activity you can do to expand your church.
Keep working at finding a way until you solve your problem. Don’t let one rejection keep you from accomplishing your dream. When one church I pastored needed to relocate, there was a beautiful property we looked at and wanted. We walked the land and pictured what our church would look like located on the site. But it didn’t happen. There were restrictions, obstacles and setbacks. Eventually we found and purchased a location that was in a much better location, more accessible and at a better price. When one approach doesn’t work out, find another way.
I learned from the ants that you never quit when you are blocked; you look for another way, a way that often turns out to be better. When faced with obstacles, we make a course adjustment.
THINK WINTER
The economic downturn of the last few years teaches us several lessons. One lesson is that no matter how good the boom times may be, it’s critical to remember that tough times may be up the road. Summer won’t last forever; winter will come. I’ve noticed that all through the good times, ants are gathering for the tough times.
Wise people know that there are seasons in life. Good times are often followed by tough times. Many years ago in Egypt, Joseph knew that following seven years of plenty, there would be seven years of famine. He knew the wise thing to do was not to squander the abundance of the good times but to use the plenty to prepare for the tough times that would come.
It is never wise to live as though the good times will last forever.
DO ALL YOU CAN
How do worker ants know how much work to do? How do they know when they have gathered enough? Do the ants have a daily quota they must meet and when it is reached, they sit down and watch the other ants complete their daily quota? I have never seen ants sitting around thinking they have done all they need to do? They just keep going, doing all they can.
What a great approach to life. Do all you possibly can! Don’t watch the clock or calendar looking for a time to quit. Don’t compare what you have done with what others have done. Don’t seek to just get by, do all you can.
This must have been the attitude of the termites that got into the ceiling of our house and ate through the 35’ log that had been used as the central beam to hold up the house. Though the log had been treated and painted to keep the ants away, the pesky ants found a break in the protection at the end of the log. An army of ants, hollowed out the log, systematically eating the log from one end to the other, avoiding the paint on the outside. We were unaware of their activity for a long time, but when they were finished, all that was left was an empty log with the coat of paint. We replaced it before the house collapsed.
The ants were not afraid to take on a big challenge. They did what they could and refused to be intimidated by a big task. They were neither deterred by how little others did nor intimidated by how much others did. Each ant did what it could.
You may not be able to sing like some people, but that doesn’t disqualify you from doing what you can do. You are unique. You have a special purpose in the body of Christ. You are spiritually gifted and suited for what God has called you to do.
STAY POSITIVE
I don’t understand how ants think, but they somehow understand the seasons of the year. It is as if in the winter, when the ants are less active, they remind themselves that winter won’t last forever and they inherently know that summer will come again. They know that winter provides rest and a time to rejuvenate. When the warm weather arrives, they can’t wait to get out and get to work.
There are seasons in life and ministry. There are times when we are going at a frantic pace and we are seeing amazing progress, but there are other times when the pace of life is slower and the results are less obvious. I’ve learned that when there is a harvest to be gathered, it’s necessary to work intensely hard. I’ve learned that there are times when the pace of life is slower, progress is harder to measure and I don’t seem to be getting anywhere. In those times, I don’t become discouraged but refresh myself. A farmer does not harvest continually throughout the year. Sometimes he needs to wait for the seed to grow.
PROTECT YOUR LEADER AND SOURCE OF LIFE
On one occasion when ants invaded our home, we had great difficulty locating the queen ant. Eventually, we were told the queen was right under our house. The ants were doing a lot of damage, particularly in our kitchen and we had to go after the queen ant. It meant digging a large hole under a stone foundation and tunneling under the house.
Eventually we came to the place where the queen ant was located and it was soon confirmed by the military ants surrounding the queen. They started fighting us, doing everything they could to keep us from their queen. Before long, the man down on his knees and stomach doing the digging, was attacked by the fighting ants. They were relentless and our friend’s hands and arms were soon covered in blood from where the ants had bitten him.
What made these ants so militant? They were protecting their queen, the one who had given them life. When the queen was killed, the colony collapsed.
In life and ministry, it is necessary to protect the honor of our leader, our King. We can’t be so preoccupied with our work that we forget to protect the honor of our King’s name.
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